Of Valkyrie and Faith
by Ive been clean for 6 months
Summary: Lieutenant Kaius Victus veteran Valkyrie pilot of the IX Caelum Drop Troops is about to embark upon a Great Crusade to free a shrine world from the corrupt hands of Chaos. Little did he know he would have a fateful run-in with the Order of the Ebon Chalice and other factions throughout the invasion. Rated M for future chapters. Guard X Sister of Battle :)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, this is my first Fanfiction ever! I want to go ahead and say I DO NOT OWN WARHAMMER 40K all rights reserved to their respected owners. Now that that's over we can get into some back story. This Fanfiction will be heavily inspired by Latin, Greek, and a little bit of Norse mythology. (Mainly where I got the names of all the characters) I'm still relatively new to Warhammer 40K so forgive me for any inaccuracies like Valkyrie's not being able to enter space idk if they can or not so whatever. Anyway, enough rambling let's get into the story, shall we?**

_"These xenos craft could be called fearsome, I suppose. But give me a thousand Valkyries to fill the sky with fire, and we shall see what is left of these alien filth that is worth fearing."_

-Air Marshal Zutrov before the Battle of the Borenza Gulf

Name: Lt. Kaius Victus

Age: 20

Homeworld Type: Agri-world/Civilized World

Homeworld Name: Caelum IV

Homeworld Status: Lost/Destroyed

Regiment: IX Caelum Drop Troops

Wing Number: 227

Affiliation: Aeronautica Imperialis

Specialization: Shock & Awe/Lightning Strike

Kaius Victus was always fascinated with flying ever since he was a child. He would watch from his house as the flyers would dust the fields to prevent insects from eating their crops. His dream of flying skyrocketed ever since seeing a real valkyrie at a military parade in the capital city of his home planet Caelum IV. Now ten years later Kaius was a veteran valkyrie pilot of the IX Caelum Drop Troops. He remembers his childhood like it was yesterday. The kids at school dreaming of becoming pilots like their fathers and the memory of the crop dusters that sparked his interest from the very beginning. At the age of twenty, Kaius had two years of experience under his belt. A significant achievement on its own seeing Imperial pilot's low life expectancies. During his time in the Aeronautica Imperialis Kaius learned that one needed quick thinking, skill, and a little bit of luck to survive a landing zone under enemy fire. Kaius quickly grew through the ranks because of his immense talent in piloting valkyries and providing air support in time of need.

It wasn't until his deployment on Charus VI did Kaius truly witness warfare on an apocalypse level. There he flew against Ork Dakkajets and Eldar Hemlock Wraithfighters. To this day, Kaius still remembers his wingmates falling out of the sky one by one into the frozen ground. The death toll was enormous, resulting in an Imperial withdrawal. Kaius assisted in the evacuation of High-ranking officers and even Space Marines from the frozen hell hole that was Charus VI. For his actions there he earned the nickname "Arctic Hawk" and was promoted to lieutenant. His entire squadron was destroyed that day resulting in him being transferred to the 227-fighter wing under the command of Captain Orsha Martial.

Operation: The Emperor's Fury

Location: Segmentum Tempestus

Planet: Ventos Prime

Situation: Daemonic Incursion

Strategic Value: Absolute

Landing Zone: LZ X-Ray and LZ Sanctuary

Primary Objective: Drop off troops at LZ X-Ray

Secondary Objective: Resupply nearby contingent of The Order of the Ebon Chalice at LZ Sanctuary

Kaius's daydreaming was interrupted by an alarm blaring in the hanger. "Hawk IV, this is Hawk I how are you feeling over?" said Captain Martial over the Vox channel. "This is Hawk IV I feel fine over," Kaius replied. "Good, the boys will need us to get them safely to the LZ," said Captain Martial. Kaius didn't like planetary invasions via valkyrie insertion. It always resulted in the highest casualties for pilots "All Hawks this is Hawk I listen up!". "We are dropping off three regiments of Guard at LZ X-Ray. We are going to fly over fields of AA guns so be prepared to pop flares and fly evasively over" shouted the Captain. "This is Hawk II copy that Hawk I we're ready for 'em!" replied Sargent Tyrus Ruslan. Ruslan was crop duster back on Caelum IV before he was conscripted into the flight academy due to lack of recruits. Another more feminine voice chimed in "This is Hawk III, you need to slow down their cowboy and try not to die," replied Sargent Aurelia Corinna. Hawk III was a veteran flyer from the former 224 airwing until its destruction a few months prior. Kaius thinks highly of Corrina not just because she is an ace pilot but because she has a kind heart and cares for her fellow wingmen. How she got past the deaths of the 224, he will never know. Kaius was interrupted again by a voice over the Vox. "Kaius I got the coordinates set for the landing zone on your HUD." This was the voice of Junius Artemios Kaius's navigator and co-pilot. "Roger that Junius I see it. We should be taking off shortly. Make sure Nero and Leonidas are ready for takeoff ok." He said. Once both the door gunners confirmed they were ready for takeoff Kaius waited for Hawk leader to give the signal. In the back of Kaius's mind, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong.

**:) Thanks for reading I know this one was short, but I will be updating these in the future. This whole writing thing is harder than it looks so I will try to put out high-quality chapters rather than a lot of garbage chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, everyone, I'm back with another chapter! I still can't decide on a good name for this story so it might change again later. Anyway, I tried to put more effort into character and world-building. I also tried a new format so if it comes out weirdly I might repost it otherwise if it looks ok I will continue with this formating. Hope you enjoy!**

_"Fire. Drop. Fire. Retrieve. Repeat as needed."_

_-_Mantra of Aeronautica Imperialis Valkyrie pilots

Over the stormy skies of Ventos Prime, the roar of hundreds of Vector-Turbofans could be heard. Three regiments of the Caelum Drop Force are en route to a landing zone code-named X-Ray. Seven hundred and fifty Valkyries cut their way through the thick gray cloud cover. Kaius felt at home behind the controls of his Valkyrie. He loved the heart-pumping thrill of flying at the speed of sound and the gorgeous view every planet had to offer him. To his left and right as far as the eye could see hundreds of Valkyrie transports carrying thousands of guardsmen were in attack formation. The transports were flying above the cloud cover to avoid detection from the ground. Kaius could only hope that it would be a smooth run to the landing zone; however, he learned throughout the years that it was never so simple. His wing was flying in formation just meters from the dark gray thunderclouds below them.

Suddenly the voice of Kaius's navigator could be heard through the Vox "Hey Kaius, you still owe me some Amasec from that one bet on Lodara Minor."

Kaius couldn't help but smile. On Lodara Minor he made a bet that Junius couldn't out drink a whole squad of Vostroyans but 3 full bottles of Rahzvod later Junius was the only one still standing. How he didn't pass out Kaius would never know.

"Alright after the mission I'll get a bottle of Amasec, but I don't know how you didn't pass out."

"Hey, a magician never gives away his secrets besides I can handle a few bottles of Rahzvod," Junius said

"Right whatever you say." Replied Kaius

They flew for a few more minutes with just the hum of the Valkyries Turbofans breaking the silence. Kaius could see the flash of lighting through the clouds below him. He wondered what the LZ looked like. The briefing stated that the LZ was a 5-kilometer circle surrounded by trenches and a few makeshift buildings. The enemy presence was supposed to be very low in the sector and would only require three additional regiments to reinforce the troops on the ground. Through the years, Kaius learned to never fully trust the briefings. He has gone on too many missions with shoddy intelligence resulting in the numerous and unnecessary deaths of his comrades. After a few more minutes of silence, it was broken by the flight leader "All Valkyries this is Grox leader prepare to descend below the clouds. The LZ should be on the right!"

"All Hawks this is Hawk I you heard the man lets get in and get out," said Captain Martial.

As Kaius descended through the thunder clouds, he could only think of what awaited them on the other side. As he broke through the cloud layer, he was met with heavy rain and flashes of explosions on the dark muddy ground. Visibility dropped drastically compared to above the cloud layer. He could see the trenches of the landing zone under heavy fire from all sides. All around the 5-kilometer circle were thousands if not hundreds of thousands of Cultists, daemons, and armored vehicles. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Anti-Aircraft fire ripped through the Imperial formation. Valkyries went down left and right in a flaming ball of promethium. The Vox channel exploded with call outs and the screams of the burning pilots. "Kaius our left!" yelled Junius over the Vox. As Kaius looked out the window, he saw a formation of Vulture gunships approaching them. Upon closer inspection, he could see the eight-pointed star of chaos. Kaius immediately went evasive. The Vox was in utter chaos.

"Bandit three o clock!" Shouted Ruslan. "Bogeys nine o clock low!" screamed Captain Martial. Missiles and tracer fire were all around him. Valkyries exploding and the screams of the fallen clouded his mind. Suddenly a voice shouted over the Vox "Hawk IV watch your six!" Kaius immediately dove to avoid a pair of chaos fighters that were following him. "Shit," he said as a falling Valkyrie almost hit him. Kaius pulled up behind one of the Chaos Vulture gunships and unleashed his multi-laser into its rear engines. The fighter was engulfed in flames as it fell it collided with a slow-moving damaged Valkyrie.

Through all the confusion over the Vox Kaius could barely hear the words of their flight leader "All Valkyries this is Grox II assuming command. Prepare for landing sequence the Emperor Protects!"

On his approach to the LZ, Kaius started taking small arms fire. Suddenly the cockpits emergency lights went red as the heat-seeking missile alarm blared. Kaius went into a steep dive until he was a few meters off the ground he then popped his flares and turned to the right. Below him, he could see the fowl daemons of Nurgle slowly making their way to the imperial lines. They were slowed by the constant oncoming lasgun and artillery fire. The mud for once was actually useful in slowing the enemy down. Bodies started to pile, and the burning husks of vehicles could be seen for miles.

The missiles fired at Kaius exploded on one of his flares pelting the oncoming Chaos horde with shrapnel. As he got a better view of the circle, he could see that most of it was utterly barren besides the vast trench network and multiple spots of craters. Artillery could be seen firing from the entrenched position in the center of the circle.

Kaius decided to land beside what looked to be the command bunker. As he landed, he witnessed a Valkyrie take a lascannon shot to the engines. The craft was engulfed in flames, and the guardsman inside could be seen trying to put themselves out. He looked around and saw other Valkyries landing and unloading their troops and supplies. As the last guardsman disembarked Kaius immediately took off with the rest of the surviving Valkyries. He could see that Hawk III took some minor wing damage and Hawk II was leaking coolant. The remaining Valkyries flew over the Chaos line unloading their Multi-lasers and Hell-strike missiles. The boom of heavy bolter fire was heard throughout the sky. As they returned to the ship.

Some believe that the initial combat is the hardest part of being a Valkyrie pilot. Instead, it is the ride back. There, one can examine the extensive amount of losses sustained during the fighting. Of the seven hundred and fifty Valkyries deployed, Kaius could see that less than half remained. As Kaius examined his surroundings, he noticed that Hawk leader was missing.

"All Hawks this is Hawk IV where the hell is Hawk leader?" Kaius said knowing the probable fate of his dear friend and comrade.

"This is Hawk III I saw him engulfed in flames as a missile hit him after landing," Corinna said over the Vox in a sad tone.

"Shit maybe he got out he was on the ground after all" replied Ruslan

"Yeah maybe," Corinna said in an even sadder tone

They all knew what most likely happened to their beloved Captain. Even if he did survive, Kaius thought the chances of surviving the LZ were even slimmer. The ride back was quiet besides the gentle Hum of the Valkyries Turbofans.

**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and I will try to get another way longer chapter out in the coming week.**


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